Garden
VOL.LXH
INDIANAPOLIS, AUGUST 81, 1907.
NO. 35
%xptvituct QepVLVtmmt
SHREDDED FODDER.
It is not Expensive.
1st Premium.—It is often said that
shredded fodder is all right but that it is
too expensive. The machine costs about
$10 a day, aud with three or four teams
aud six or eight men at first glance the
expense seems so great that, without
stopping to figure, the conclusion is
drawn that shredding costs much more
than to husk by hand. Wc have shredded
ni,\v three seasons In succession, and we
believe it pays. Last year we shredded
fourteen acres iu less than a day and
hauled the corn two miles to the mnchine,
using four teams. This  was over  400
shi>cks, and probably more than an average day's work, but to be conservative
we will figure it at 30 shocks a day. If
a man husks twenty shocks by hand and
hauls the colli in. it is a good day's work.
Then it would require fifteen days to husk
300 shocks and put the corn iu the crib.
With a shredder this can be done in one
day. There  will  be  about  six  men  to
help, and this will leave eight days to
balance  the  cost  of  the  machine. At
$l.r>0a iluy, Ihis time would be worth $12.
while the machine would probably not
cost  over $10. We  hnve  said  nothing
about boarding the men, as when we help
baek this nearly evens up ihis item. But
when the eurn is husked by hand, the
fodder is still in the field, and the cost
of hauling it in would, we believe, counterbalance any expense unaccounted for
on the other side.
if the expense account balances, the
ouestion may then be asked, "How much
is  gained  by  shredding  fodder?" The
chief item of gain is in the added value
of  the feed. Shredded  fodder,   we  be
lieve, will feed twice as far as the same
amount of fodder fed in the old way. Then
it requires much less space to store it,
and it can usually be put in the bat-
where it will be handy to feed, while un
shredded fodder, or at least a part of it.
is generally stacked out of doors and is
ex|>osed to the weather. Again, it is
much more convenient to feed shredded
fodder, as corn stalks in the l>arn are usually considered a nuisauce. Then too
there is but little waste. When shredded
the fodder is nearly all eaten, and what
little is picked over makes excellent bedding. Being fine, it more readily absorbs
the liquid manure and conserves this val-
unable prodnct. Also it rots much sooner
than whole stalks and brings a quicker
return when plowed under. Besides,
the manure is much  easier handled.
Husking the corn used to be considered
the most tedious feature connected with
the crop. When it was done by hand,
r. great deal stood out in the fields over
winter, and this occasioned a greater loss
perhaps than the cost of husking. Now
the husking can be done up in a day or
two, and there is no need of beginning
till the corn is dry enough to crib. Most
of ns have had experience in husking corn
by hand in cold weather, and if there is
anything more disagreeable than tliis we
do not think of it just at present. Then
iu some parts of the country it is next to
impossible to get help during the husking
season. When the fodder is shredded,
n larger crop may be raised without the
fear of a part of it remaining in the field
during the winter. As winter approaches
there is always much to be done in getting
everything  properly  stored,  and  with  the
husking out of the way we have a better
opportunity   to   accomplish   this. With
(he shredding ehuie as rood as the fodder
is dry enough, it does not become so
greatly   bleached   nml   is   much   better   in
and if the fodder is in proiter shape it is
worth almost as much, ton for ton. as
timothy hay, and we have our eorn be-
si.le-s. Corn  is  nut   any harder on   laml
than timothy is, inure especially if allow-
Farm Residence of W.   11. Sterner, White County.
W.  11.  Sterner- Ba  ins and Stables.
i very   way.
ln this township there is always a great
demand in tha fall for teams tn haul
gravel em the roads, ami must nf us aim
li, gel Ihe work dune up early that as
much time as possible may be put in in
this way. Enough can be earned to pay
for the shredding in much lessi time than
would be required tei do the husking by
hand. .Most of us do lint feed unshreildeil
fodder tn the horses. Iml when it is
shredded usually nn nther ronghage is required during the winter. They do well
me. it.   especially where given a little oil
meal nr   ulie.it   bran. When heirses  arc
wintered without being fed hay it is a
great   saving,   particularly   s.e  when  ha.v
sells at from $10 to $15 a i.eir. as has been
the case here this season. Without mentioning other reasons, it will thus be seen
liml   a   LTi'iit  dea] is gained  by  shredding.
J.
Qood as Timothy.
LM Premium.—There arc many gains to
be desired by shredding our fodder. We
can store more than double the amonnt by
shredding than by putting it in the mow
iu the bundles, which is quite an object,
Alsn we can store our fodder in our barns
in  good  time.      If done at the right time
ed in remain in timothy feu- a number of
5 ears.
My 1006 hay crop being short, 1 was obliged tn feed shredded fodder this summer
to my work horses. Will say they ate it
line and did just as well as if on hay, but
my fodder was nice and fresh all summer.
Now I .un sure that bundle fodder wnul.l
not make good summer feed, as it gets
dry and almost worthless. By shredding
we can t"»'t'.l nil mir stuck ill a warm barn,
let it be rainy nr snowy, and have the refuse in bed with. It makes the very
1 est of bedding, being a splendid, absor-
licnt. ami is ready immediately to be
1.anled in the field, which is quite a gain
thai shook] imt be overlooked, for to make
plenty of good barn yard fertilizer sihoulii
be the aim of every fanner. If we (jj)
mil spread nm- fodder we nre apt to let
il remain in the field until a convenient
lime tn haul it. setting it in large shocks,
te. be blown down, or to get wet, or possibly we let it remain as husked until we
have mure time, and our fodder is very
much damaged. This is certainly a great
liss.
Oftentimes we think it is too unhandy
to feed in theb am. which is about right.
We haul and set in large shocks or stack
near a  feed lot, and feed our fodder in a
muddy lot, and it is tramped over and
eii.es Iml little geiod. If not hauled until
wanted to feed, as a rule it is frozen to
llie ground and what a task it is to chop
the frozen fodder loose. Besides it has
lost  about one-half  of its  value.
Some think shredded fodder is too apt
i'i spoil. Will say I have shredded for
a number eif years and have never had any
trouble in lhat way. Do not shred too
siinn while there is so much sap in the
stalks, but let the shocks get cured out.
If the shocks are made small when cutting
we can spread sooner. Shredding is a
little expensive, but the great advantage
both to ourselves and to our stock make it
inmmy well spent, and I do not want
tn gn back iii Ihe old way of feeding whole
stalks again. G. B.
No Waste.
3d Premium.—Shredded fodder is usually gotten into the dry earlier than when
le ft whole. Much more shredded than
loitg fodder can be put iu the sarnie space,
because when shredded it enn be packed
much more firmly and piled to the top of
the mow, which is next to an impossibility with stalk fodder. Of course it must
be dry and ripe to be piled high and it
should   not   be   tramped. After   it   is
ince iu the mow it is much easier handled than long fodder aud stock seem to
like   it   better. The   waste  is   reduced
to a minimum. As the stalks are torn
to pieces animals will eat nearly all of
them leaving only the larger and haider
pieces, and as the stalk has much nutriment in it this makes it feed much longer
than whole fodder.
The refuse of shredded fodder makes
capital bedding for both horses and cattle, something for which no one even
thinks of using long fodder. The refuse of stalk fodder must either be piled
lip to rot or hauled out at once to get in
the road of the plow, and as all will not
be plowed under and some covered only
slightly it will be a nuisance to you all the
season. The refuse of shredded fodder can
be hauled out at once and that is the last
of it so far as bothering you is concerned. As it is in small pieces it can be
plowed under better and therefore makes
iniiih better fertilizer than long fodder.
M. L. S.
No. 600, Sept. 7—Tell how to construct
an ice house and how to store ice.
No. 601, Sept. 14.—Give directions for
building satisfactory pens and sheds for
sheep.
The Indiana experiment station advises
sowing alfalfa without a nurse crop. Clean
culture of the ground, before the alfalfa
seed is sown, is really all that is needed.
The amonnt of alfalfa seed to sow per
acre depends upon the quality of the seed.
With 95 per cent pure seed, 15 pounds
per acre is ample. The thing to do is to
find out how much of your seed will grow.
Farmers who use the drill for seeding
find in it many advantages over the old
method of sowing broadcast. With the
drill less seed is required, because all the
seed is covered. Even germination is
secured, because all the seed is in at a
given depth. Winter wheat will stand
thawing and freezing better if drilled in.
Alsike is a finer plant than red clover,
and when grown on low land with fescure
or red top makes good hay. Only one
crop mny be taken; that is, it cannot be
cut for hay and afterwards mature seed,
as does red clover.